Friday Afterschool Special: Copa Cabana

Dante A. Ciampaglia |
June 3rd 2016, 2:56 pm

The Copa America Centenary tournament begins today. Sixteen teams from North and South America will compete in 10 cities across the United States, and some of the biggest names in the game will be on American soil — including Messi. Argentina and Mexico are the favorites to win the competition. But it should be exciting all the way through the final match on June 26.

But if you only have time for a little bit of soccer this month, here are the games you need to watch:

Whatever happens in the Copa tournament, we can all hope that no one has to play a game in a swamp — which was the fate of FC Dallas and the Houston Dynamo last night thanks to the epic rain falling on Texas right now

Football was made to be played in the elements, and few places host the elements like Green Bay, where the Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 on Bart Starr's 1-yard sneak with 13 seconds left in the legendary Ice Bowl. Referees' whistles froze in the -13 air that felt like -46 when the wind blew.

Snow and the scrappy Patriots held the heavily-favored visiting Dolphins in a scoreless standstill until late in the fourth quarter. Then Pats head coach Ron Meyer asked a convict on work release to plow a spot on the field to improve the footing for John Smith, who booted the winning 33-yard field goal.

It was a chilling experience for the San Diego Chargers in Cincinnati, where the game-time temperature was -9 degrees. The wind chill of -59, fed by gusts of up to 35 mph, caused cases of frostbite in the stands. The Bengals kept their cool and won 27-7.

Denver may rightfully be called the home office for snow. In this game, the home town Broncos got buried by the Chiefs 21-7 despite the best efforts of quarterback John Elway and running back Aaron Craver.

With temperatures in the low 30s, a fog rolled in off Lake Michigan near the end of the first half. The field shrouded, the Bears passed only seven times as players and coaches struggled to see the action. When the fog finally lifted, the Bears had downed the Eagles 20-12.

It is said the Patriots dynasty was born in the cold, snow and swirling wind after Tom Brady's apparent fumble on the Oakland 42 was reversed on review in the final 1:43. Given new life, the Pats kept driving and tied the game on Adam Vinatieri's field goal. They beat the Raiders in overtime, 16-13.

With wind gusts up to 40 mph blowing snow sideways and visibility limited, throwing the ball was nearly impossible and both teams had to rely on their running games. But even that was tough as players struggled to get traction on the slippery, snow-covered surface.

The 2016 NBA Finals got off to a great start — if you’re the Golden State Warriors. The defending champs dominated the Cleveland Cavaliers, 104-89, to take a 1-0 series lead. With that outcome, you’d think the Cavs would be the ones with a reason to want to break stuff. But you’d be wrong. Because Golden State coach Steve Kerr totally had some frustration to vent, and he took it out on a defenseless clipboard.

Mamba Ain’t Afraid of No Ghosts!

Didn’t take long for Kobe Bryant to find his first post-basketball job: Ghostbuster! Maybe he can capture the evil spirits haunting LeBron’s squad right now…